Collagen embedded in fabric — a fashion collection from Buki is meant to let you dress your way to softer skin

Buki

A model wears Seattle-based Buki's collagen turtleneck, which the label's founders say contains collagen to help soften the skin.

A model wears Seattle-based Buki's collagen turtleneck, which the label's founders say contains collagen to help soften the skin. (Buki)

Sara CagleLos Angeles Times

If you’ve recently embraced the health trend of drinking collagen for stronger bones, don’t feel so hip just yet. One clothing company wants you to wear collagen for softer skin.

Seattle-based Buki, a clothing brand specializing in high-tech fabrics, released the Collagen Collection, a line of clothing embedded with collagen (a structural protein found in the body’s connective tissue), in June. Buki co-founders call it their most innovative, powerful fabric yet.

The Collagen Collection includes women’s turtleneck, scoop-neck and V-neck long-sleeve shirts, which are form-fitting and can be used as layering pieces; a hoodie; a scarf; and a pillow cover — all in black — priced from $98 to $178. Buki will release more women’s clothing such as pajama sets in gray and blush pink in November as well as pants, a dress and men’s T-shirts in 2019. The company also offers a variety of clothing options for men and women outside of the Collagen Collection.

The current collection, composed of casual pieces with simple silhouettes, is meant to take women from desk to dinner in any season, Buki co-founder Joey Rodolfo said. Besides softening the skin, it also promises to regulate body temperature, dry quickly and resist pilling — and it has UPF-50 to protect you from ultraviolet rays.

But does the fabric actually work as the brand’s co-founders claim? During a recent interview, Rodolfo said the fabric passed third-party testing services SGS and Intertek with “flying colors.”

At the very least, they say it’s really, really soft.

The clothing starts with a marine-sourced, skin-smoothing collagen powder, Buki co-founder Stacy Bennett said. The powder then becomes a fiber, which is combined with other fibers, such as modal and viscose rayon, to create the knit collagen fabric.

“Because the source of collagen is one of those fibers, the resulting fabric is essentially collagen, and so it never wears out, it never washes out and it truly is part of the fabric,” Bennett said.

Why combine skin care and clothing? Rodolfo said he believes that high-tech fabrics are the future of fashion. He and Bennett have worked with a Japanese fiber-technology company (they wouldn’t disclose the company’s name) on each of Buki’s 10 technical fabrics.

“I started 15 years ago really focusing on the next generation of fibers,” Rodolfo said. “One of the things that was really apparent to me is that fibers were going to change fashion. People want all-around comfort, but beyond the comfort — comfort with actual benefits.”

Everything from Buki’s collection is machine washable, but Bennett recommends washing Buki items together and hanging them to dry.

“We’re trying to start a wardrobe revolution where everything’s mixed and matched, and everything’s super comfortable, easy to take care of, great for travel — just better for everyday,” Bennett said. “Once you’ve felt these technical fabrics, there’s no going back.”

Can’t make it to the Buki store in Seattle? The Collagen Collection is available online. If you want to try before you buy, it’s also available at two Southern California stores: Just Looking Boutique in Laguna Beach and Unique Accents in Dana Point. Rodolfo said he and Bennett have their eyes on other retailers and would eventually like to open a pop-up store in Los Angeles.

Curl up, get cozy and enjoy our collection of some of Chicago's most stylish bedrooms.

Beauty brands and designers are creating a growing number of sophisticated home goods and luxury beauty products, from The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Cream to Mailin and Goetz's beeswax and cannabis hair pomade for men, to home design guru Jonathan Adler's gold-detailed porcelain cannabis leaf coasters.